OpEd: Finding the suffragettes of tomorrow

When the suffragettes won women the right to vote in 1920, they altered the course of our nation’s future. During their almost 100-year fight for participation in our electoral process, they proved women deserve to have our own political identities recognized and set us down the path to equal involvement in every part of government – a journey that continues today. Being an equal part of government means more than having the right to cast a ballot. We need to be in decision-making bodies creating policies. Our distinctive skill sets can only be put to use if we’re there to share them. And the best way to ensure that elected officials are safeguarding our rights is by becoming them.

But how do we realize this vision? At Emerge Colorado, we’re changing the face of Colorado’s politics by recruiting exceptional Democratic women and giving them skills they need to win. We equip our participants with knowledge they need to navigate our political system and feed qualified candidates into political matches at all levels. For us, it’s about more than seeing women who come through our program succeed. Research shows women in office are often more responsive to constituents, value cooperation and find unique ways to engineer solutions. Everyone wins.

Throughout history, women have had to fight for every advancement we’ve made and opportunity we’ve been afforded. The battle for equal representation in elected office is no different, but this time Emerge Colorado is there to help women, every step of the way.

Jenny Willford is the Executive Director of Emerge Colorado.

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